Australia

In the 20th century, Australia holds the attraction of tourism as strongly as it held the attraction of mystic and adventure more than 200 years ago.  Australia is a country, a continent and more.  There is no other place that is a country and a continent.  Most continents contain several countries.  The exception being Antarctica which is a continent with no countries. 

Australia's native inhabitants (Aboriginals) have lived in Australia for more than 40,000 years.  The Aboriginal culture is spread throughout the continent and the different clans maintained their own cultural histories.  Some aspects of their histories are shared due to interactions from trading and other activities that would have brought them together. 

The discovery of Australia came about during the 18th century, more than 200 years ago.  European explorers discovered the Great Land Mass and brought back with them to Europe tales of great wonders and riches of the land.  Settlement of Australia was slow but towards the end of the 18th century, England used Australia as a penal colony to ease the over crowding of its prisons after the end of the American Revolution.  Many of these prisoners decided to stay in Australia after they completed their sentences.   

Gold being discovered in Australia increased the settlement of the Continent (at that time the colonies).  Most of the gold rush hopefuls were unsuccessful in their quest and many of them stayed on to work the farms, doing laborer jobs or run the businesses.   

Australia became one country in 1901 by unifying the colonies.  They consist of 6 states and 2 territories and operate under a Parlimentary procedure.  

Australia has many attractions.  Among them are notably the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House.  If you think of Australia from a visual viewpoint, the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House forms an image in your mind.  If you are familiar at all with Australia, you could close your eyes and visualize The Sydney Opera House with the Harbour Bridge as a backdrop. 

For the adventurer, there is the Great Barrier Reef.  The Great Barrier Reef is one of the most notable natural attractions and wonders of Australia.  It's the largest coral reef formation in the world and composes of natural habitat from sandy islands to rainforest islands.  The reef stretches along the west coast of Australia.  It has quite a variety of Marine life and much of the area is restricted as it is being managed by the Australian government.  The area is a strong seat for tourism bringing in millions of dollars per year.  It offers diving, fishing, camping site seeing and many other activities.   

Of course when you think of Australia, you think of the variety of wildlife that are not common in other areas of the world.  Wildlife that we are familiar with because of our visits to our local zoos.  None the less, these are wildlife animals that we are not familiar with in the wild.  Australia's native wildlife are unique to its continent since Australia's landmass was cut off from other land masses more than 50 million years ago.  There's the kangaroo, the emu, the koala and the crocodile to be most noted.  Although crocodiles are found in other areas of the world, the kangaroo, emu and koala are very much restricted as are other wildlife that are only native to Australia.    

The Australian country side is extremely attractive as well.  It ranges from the lush rainforest regions to the desert to the coastal regions and of course the sea life as depicted by the Great Barrier Reef.  Australia has done much to protect its natural environments as more than 2,000 areas are protected as National Parks and Reserves.   

The attraction of Australia holds something for everybody.  We know much about Australia because of the opportunity to study its history in books, through the media and in the zoos.  There is so much to learn by being there.  If planning a trip, plan carefully so as to take in as much as possible in your allotted time.  No matter what your allotted time, it will never be enough.